A Solid Evening

This year, and semester especially, trips to the city have been improving in both frequency and quality. While I did make it to the city once a week last semester, those trips were for class and it was rare that I did much more than go to my class when I was there.

This year, being off campus, and maybe with the countdown to graduation in our minds, there has been a increase in activity/mobility. I would said I have been in the city 75% of the weekends I am in NY this semester. It's really great that we are getting to do this kind of stuff and it definitely wipes away any of those pesky 'if I had gone to a local college I'd be in so much less debt right now' thoughts.

Tonight was a really solid 'hipster kid' night, looking back on it. A few of us met up in the city and after getting falafel at Mamoun's (which is an absolute must if you are near Washington Square Park), to see Michael Haneke's newest film, The White Ribbon. While the movie was very good and incredibly well shot there was a big problem with the screening. What is a sure fire way to ruin a foreign film? Having someone in front of you who is tall and does not care enough to slouch for the rest of the audience behind him. So what, you might say, he couldn't have blocked much of the screen. And you are right, but when you are directly behind him, the part of the screen his head is blocking is the subtitles. I spent the entire screening leaning one way or the other trying to see around him. I think the lady next to me thought I was attempting to put my head on her shoulder. I know moving sounds like an option but the only row we could have sat in would have been in the front and I couldn't decide if that would have been better.

From there we went a few blocks over to a record store which I have become fond of this semester, and then onto Cafe Reggio, this really awesome coffee shop that has been around since the 1920s and is open all but 4 hours a day (from 8 am to 4 am).

So in summary to add up the hipster-ness of the night (which is not intentional but in recapping, I realize how it sounds) I spent the night 1.) in the village 2.) at an arthouse seeing a foreign, independent, black and white film 3.) followed by a trip to a record store 4.) capped off by getting coffee not just at Dunkin or McDonalds but at a coffee house dating back to the 1920s.

It was a solid night.

Pancakes, MoMa, Sabarsky Cafe, and Sushi-birthday dinner on 96th tomorrow.

Goodnight!

Cravings

You know how it's easiest to decide on a restaurant or type of cuisine when you find youself 'in the mood' for something. I think, at least for me, that mood is based on a conjuring up of a taste - you mentally create the sensation of a type of food or dish that correlates with say 'italian' or 'mexican'. Those words carry memory flavor that helps you decide if you are in the mood or craving that type of food.

Tonight, we headed into the city to do dinner and spend some time walking around. We really had no planned destination even a type of restaurant we were looking for although, because of our proximity to Little Italy in the Bronx we all pretty much agreed no Italian food. Eventually the idea for Thai food was suggested. I was absolutely in the mood for Thai after hearing the suggestion. What is rare about those moods is that you satisfy that craving - more so when its a more abstract craving. You might crave McDonald's french fries, or an Auntie Anne's Pretzel and those are more consistent foods so that your craving will be matched by getting that food. But having a desire for Thai food is more vague.

So to say that I was able to order, sort of blindly, from the menu and get a meal that was so satisfying and so perfectly accurate to the exact taste I was craving is impressive. I finished my meal and was so pleased I was almost baffled at how exact it turned out to be. The food was delicious and included more vegetables that I failed to identify, but couldn't care less about because of the flavor. In addition one thing you can never be sure of is spicy. People's tolerance as well as restaurants rating or ranking of spice is tough to gauge. I did not want something dull but I also did not want to regret my decision. Even the spice of the food was perfect - not too dull but not too much to handle. The place we went to was called Boyd's Thai and was on Bleeker and Thompson.

The night was followed by a quick stop at the record store which was right next to the Thai place where I picked up Cursive's The Ugly Organ and the new Album Leaf records. From there we hit a really cool old coffee shop down two blocks and just hung out and chatted over some pretty great coffee.

All in all a great night. I can't wait for warm weather when I can just go sit somewhere and not feel rushed by the temperature to make a plan or just get inside. Plus once it gets warm I plan to explore Brooklyn a lot.